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127th United States Colored Infantry Regiment
The 127th United States Colored Infantry was an American infantry regiment which fought with the Union Army during the American Civil War. Staffed by African American enlisted men who were placed under the command of white officers, the regiment was formed and trained at Camp William Penn near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between August 23 and September 10, 1864. Following training, the regiment joined the 10th Corps, within the Army of the James, and later took part in some of the final battles of the war including the Battle of Chaffin's Farm, the Battle of Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road and the fighting around the Appomattox Court House. After the war, the regiment undertook occupation duties as part of the 25th Corps in Texas along the Mexican frontier and the Rio Grande River before its personnel were mustered out in September and October 1865. This regiment's battle flag was one of eleven designed by African American ornamental artist and portraitist David Bustill Bowser. History The 127th U.S. Colored Infantry was formed on August 23, 1864, at Camp William Penn, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The regiment's enlisted personnel were African Americans, under the command of white officers.Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5; Prepared in Compliance with Acts of the Legislature, Vol. V: "One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh U.S. Colored Regiment ," pp. 1125–1137. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1871."127th US Colored Troops ." La Mott, Pennsylvania: Camp William Penn Museum, retrieved online March 9, 2019. Its first central command staff included: Colonel Benjamin F. Tracy, Lieutenant Colonel James Given, Major Arthur M. Greene, Quartermaster John W. Taylor, Surgeon William C. Powell, Assistant Surgeon Eugene A. Chapman, and Chaplain Thomas S. Johnson.Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, p. 1125. After completing training on September 10, the regiment was ordered to City Point, Virginia. The regiment was attached to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division of the U.S. Army's 10th Corps (Army of the James) until November 1864 when it was transferred to the 10th Corps' 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division. According to historian Samuel P. Bates, during this period of service, this regiment sustained only a single casualty, and that occurred during Union Army actions associated with the Second Battle of Deep Bottom, Virginia and the Siege of Petersburg. Other historians have noted, however, that these actions occurred later in the siege, and were related to the Battle of Chaffin's Farm (September 29–30), Battle of Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road (October 13 and October 27–28), trench duties outside of Richmond (until March 1865), operations near Hatcher's Run (March 29–31), and the Appomattox Campaign and Confederate States Army's surrender by Robert E. Lee (April 1865)."127th US Colored Troops," Camp William Penn Museum. According to U.S. National Park Service historians, the 127th U.S. Colored Infantry was one of the Union regiments which "made the journey all the way to Appomattox Court House with Major General Edward Ord's Union Army of the James and arrived in time to be involved in the final fighting.... On the morning of the 9th at Appomattox Court House, the black units were sent forward to support other Federal units in the closing phase of the battle....""Black Soldiers on the Appomattox Campaign ," in "Appomattox Court House." Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Park Service, March 31, 2012. Afterward, the 127th was assigned to post-war duties at City Point. In June of 1865, the regiment was shipped south to Brazos Santiago, Texas, where it was attached to the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, of the U.S. Army's 25th Corps (Department of Texas), and was assigned to duties along the Mexican frontier and Rio Grande River. Following the honorable discharge of a significant number of the 127th's members and the members of other Union infantry units, the remaining infantrymen from the 127th were merged with other Union troops into a three-company-strength battalion on September 11, 1865. On October 20, of that same year, these men were also then honorably mustered out. Battle flag, uniforms and other equipment The regiment's battle flag (shown above) was one of 11 designed by African American ornamental artist and portraitist David Bustill Bowser,"David Bustill Bowser Historical Marker ," in "Explore PA History." Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, retrieved online February 23, 2019. and was "one of the first widely viewed, positive images of African Americans painted by an African American," according to historians at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission."David Bustill Bowser Historical Marker," in "Explore PA History," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.Sauers, Richard A. Advance The Colors: Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flags, Vol. 1, pp. 40–57. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Capitol Preservation Committee, 1987 and 1991.Smith, Eric Ledell, "Painted with Pride in the U.S.A.," in Pennsylvania Heritage, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 24–31. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation, 2001. See also *List of Pennsylvania Civil War Units *3rd United States Colored Infantry Regiment *22nd United States Colored Infantry Regiment *25th United States Colored Infantry Regiment *45th United States Colored Infantry Regiment References External links * "127th USCT," in "The Siege of Petersburg Online." Beyond the Crater, retrieved online March 9, 2019. * Diamond, Jane. "Patriots in Pandenarium: An Albemarle Plantation, a Free Pennsylvania Settlement, and the U.S. Colored Troops" (John Allen, James H. Garland, and George W. Lewis of Company A, 127th Regiment United States Colored Troops). Charlottesville, Virginia: John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History, University of Virginia, November 2, 2017. * Pinsker, Matthew and John Osborne, et. al. "127th USCT Regiment," in "Pennsylvania Grand Review," in House Divided. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College, 2010. Category:United States Colored Troops Civil War regiments Category:Military units and formations established in 1864 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1865